The famous Italian journalist Gianni Brera mused that the perfect game of football would finish 0-0 and his reasoning was thus: goals were predominantly a result of errors during a passage of play, thus a game devoid of goals was by association a game devoid of telling mistakes.
What wouldn't we give for his thoughts, though, on the conservatism which United have descended into: their moribund football, devoid of goals and imagination, which leaves the side on the brink tonight, knowing that a sixth goalless draw in 10 games is likely to put them out of the Champions League at the group stage.
There are some clients who have such a high degree of hopelessness and apathy and are so devoid of goals, that motivational interviewing may be ineffective in motivating them to change.
The visitors managed just one on-target attempt in a game devoid of good goal-scoring chances.
Is it intended to alleviate stress or neurosis caused by close confinement, is it a repetitive and invariant behaviour that is devoid of any obvious goal or function, such as cage-pacing seen in some zoo animals, or might it signify something else? "When it comes to stereotyped behaviour, there are competing theories.
It is devoid of...no, it's beyond devoid.
But the OWS movement is exactly that – a movement, devoid of leaders and goals.
(And entirely devoid of women).
Instead, the match exposed Villa for what they are: a side low on self-belief, conceding all sorts of goals and so devoid of attacking threat there were only sporadic moments when they put their opponents under sustained pressure.
